Moonlit
by Joy
Summary: Years later, Hinata returns to a certain waterfall. NaruHina.


**Moonlit  
**by Joy

The waterfall was unchanged. Years had passed since Hinata's last visit and she had been very busy. During the time Naruto had been training with Jiraiya-sama, Hinata had stepped up her own already harsh training. She had already created one technique and since she hadn't been struck down by lightning for her audacity (and in fact had gotten a hug and a compliment from Naruto for it), she went further.

While training at home with her father and Neji, she focused on the Hyuuga techniques. In her own time she focused on outside techniques, ninjutsus and genjutsus that could be adapted with the Byakugan into something more. She had even trained with Rock Lee in his taijutsu style. He'd welcomed the chance to practice against her jyuuken style while she doggedly built up her strength and stamina. Such was her focus that she made Chuunin on her second attempt.

When Naruto had returned to Konoha, things had gotten only more eventful. Akatsuki made their move, then Orochimaru stuck his oar in and there was a very big mess involving Uchiha Sasuke. Thankfully, the worst of that was over now. Akatsuki was scattered, Orichimaru had been dealt with and Sasuke was on the road to recovery. He'd fallen far into the darkness but Sakura had made him her personal crusade and refused to give up on him. Being in love did that to you. Hinata knew that from experience; she'd been in love with a certain blond haired, clueless ninja for most of her life.

Hinata sighed and drew her attention back to the moment. Since the fighting had died down, she'd been given a week off. An entire week! She'd promised herself an actual holiday, no 'brooding', as Naruto phrased it.

Tilting her head back, the white eyed kunoichi looked at the moon. At its zenith, it seemed small and alone as its radiance hid all but the brightest of stars. Lowering her gaze she noticed the way the world was washed of colour, painted in shades of otherworldly glowing grey.

Just like the time years ago, Hinata felt like she'd wandered into a dream. It was so beautiful. The way the light of the full moon glimmered on the water, the soft spray that cooled her heated skin and the tranquillity that was only enhanced by the gentle rumble of the waterfall.

This place was home to a happy – if incredibly embarrassing memory and she wouldn't mind recreating it a bit. The recent years of war and constant battles had left her little opportunity to dance on waterfalls in the moonlight. After using her Byakugan to ensure she wouldn't be having any unwanted visitors, Hinata started to undress. Like her ability as a ninja, her clothes had also changed over the years, though unlike some other kunoichi, Hinata had never sacrificed practicality for fashion. On the other hand, she'd also stopped sacrificing practicality for shyness.

Folding her clothes neatly on a dry boulder away from the water, Hinata added her hair sticks to the pile, letting her long hair tumble about her shoulders. She'd given up on short hair around the time she became a Chuunin. With her constant training, she had no time for the frequent haircuts necessary to retain the style. When it had grown long enough, she had just coiled it up into a bun with some hairsticks.

Fluffing out her hair with her fingers, Hinata stepped onto the water with only the tiniest fraction of her attention on the chakra needed to walk on it. For a long moment she stood near the centre of the pool, bathed in both moonlight and spray from the waterfall. Then she began to move.

It was a combination of a dance and her own personal style of taijutsu. Impossible for someone without perfect chakra control and a challenge for someone who did, for Hinata it was merely a comforting routine. She leapt like a ballerina and twirled precisely, nearly laughing from the fun of it. Even working in the field along side Naruto, it had been a long time since she'd been able to just have fun with chakra.

The constant fighting had started to wear at Naruto. His smiles were still bright but his eyes were sadder. More than ever did he resemble the Yondaime. Not just the spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes but the expression. Responsibility, grief and sorrow tempered by the will of fire. It was the look of a Hokage.

Unwilling to dwell on her unhappy thoughts, Hinata focused her attention on using her chakra to twirl some water about her in a sphere. Water was one of the hardest things to manipulate with chakra and this was one of the first chakra water tricks she'd perfected by herself. Feeling a bit like showing off, Hinata lifted her hand and froze the sphere in place. This was much harder. Using the other hand to gesture – though she didn't need to – she opened the roof of the sphere and used her chakra to form the remaining half into the form of a flower. The water petals glittered in the moonlight, making the flower look as though it had been carved from diamond or maybe grown in the garden of some divine being.

"Excuse me…"

Hinata released the water flower in shock. She recognised that voice, though the tone was unusual. Very rarely did she hear Uzumaki Naruto sound so uncertain.

"Please don't go," he added quickly and she froze in her tracks with her back to him. She was glad that at least this time she had enough hair to cover herself a bit. As it was, she was sure he had a good enough view to earn a nosebleed. Peeking back over her shoulder, she checked only to find him nosebleed-free. Considering he'd been trained by Jiraiya-sama, she supposed that shouldn't have been surprising. She might have felt a little insulted if he hadn't been staring at her as though she was a goddess come to earth. To be the focus of a look like that…Hinata blushed.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Naruto apologized in a gentle voice that very few had ever heard. Barefoot, he hopped onto a half submerged rock and crouched cautiously. Over the years his clothes had gained more black than orange, though at that moment he was missing both his jacket and the t-shirt underneath. Hinata was momentarily distracted by the play of moonlight across his naked chest. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless but combined with the look on his face and that _voice_…well, melting into a puddle sounded like a good idea.

"I could never be scared of you," she said softly, turning her face away from him.

"You ran away last time," he said.

"I'm not running now," she replied and slowly turned around to face him. Perhaps she was drunk on the moment to act so boldly but it felt right. She was tired of waiting.

Naruto stared at her and as though in a trance, gingerly stepped out onto the water. "Are you real?" His voice was as soft as the night breeze against her skin. In his eyes was a vulnerability that hurt her heart.

Hinata had gained confidence in herself and conquered most of her shyness but she was deep down a gentle person. That was what made her such a dangerous kunoichi; she avoided unnecessary conflict and if she had to kill someone she did it without needing to brag about it first. However, seeing Naruto's eyes look like that made her want to unseal Kyuubi and spend a few years tearing out its internal organs one at a timewith a rusty spoon for causing Naruto so much pain while growing up.

"This isn't a dream," Hinata assured him, blinking back tears. She held out a hand to him, inviting him to join her.

"Sometimes it feels like it is," Naruto admitted. "I keep expecting to wake up. I'm not used to being happy, Hinata-chan." He took her hand in his and before he could react she threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Naruto-kun," she said, squeezing her eyes closed as she felt his arms wrap around her. He always made her feel so safe. It had little to do with the fact he was possibly the strongest Ninja alive and more to do with who he was. Uzumaki Naruto. The comfort of his embrace was almost enough to distract her from the way her naked breasts were pressed to his equally naked chest.

"By the time I'm through with you," Hinata pulled back a little to look up him with shimmering white eyes, "you won't remember what it was like to be unhappy." She grinned suggestively up at him and was rewarded by his eyes lighting up and his own slightly perverted grin.

"It might take a while," he said mock seriously, feigning innocence. His hands were anything but as they traced up and down her slightly damp back.

Hinata fought back a shudder. "How long were you thinking?" she said, playing along. Her own hands drifted down his back and under the waistband of his trousers.

He twitched but his voice was nonchalantly calm as he spoke, "Oh, five decades at least."

Hinata froze. Was he asking what she _thought_ he was asking? As close as they were she could feel his knees shaking and she buried her face in his chest to hide her sudden huge smile.

"I don't know, Naruto-kun," she said innocently, her voice was a bit muffled by they way her face was hidden. She drew her hands back up to less distracting areas. He tensed. "You've never been too quick with emotional things…How many years did it take you to realise I was in love with you? You're going to need more that fifty years of my time…"

"Oh?" Naruto breathed in her ear. "How long do _you_ think?" He was no longer tense and his knees had stopped shaking. Hinata's spine though almost melted when he did that. She forced herself to speak instead of just moan.

"A lifetime at least, probably more," she said seriously and lifted her face to reveal her blinding smile and teary eyes.

"Hinata-chan…" Naruto wiped away her tears with gentle hands that could just as easily kill an enemy with ruthless precision. She was the most precious person in the world to him and his every action showed it.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata shifted her arms from around his waist to around his neck.

"If I'm going to take so much work," he murmured, already lost in her white eyes. "We should probably start now, ne?"

"Yes…" Hinata breathed. Her eyes drifted closed as their lips met in a kiss.

* * *

Much later, Naruto lay on his back on the water and stared up at the moon. It was no longer quite so high in the sky but it still bathed the area in its ghostly light. He had one arm wrapped tightly around Hinata who was curled on top of him like a human blanket. She'd complained – very cutely to his admittedly biased ears – that the water was cold and had settled herself on him instead. 

He blinked as a sudden insecurity hit him.

"That was a _yes_…right?" He asked the dozing woman in his arms.

Hinata didn't so much as twitch. "Yes," she said surprisingly clearly. She was too happy to try playing games with him and she wasn't about to let him go back on his rather unique proposal.

"You want to marry me?" His voice had an edge of uncertainty. No matter how confident he acted, deep down he'd never really believed he'd even get a girlfriend. And now here was Hinata - Hinata of the countless virtues, Hinata who made him happy just by existing – actually willing to become his wife.

"Yes."

Naruto paused for moment at that oh so very firm answer from a woman who'd been a very timid girl. Part of him wanted to leave well enough alone but the rest of him had to know. "Why?"

Finally, Hinata moved. Naruto found it very distracting but managed to focus on her face. She looked down at him with eyes full of love and understanding and belief and trust and told him, "because you're Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto felt his own eyes start to tear and had to look away.

"It was a good idea to do this," Hinata said, changing the subject after giving him a moment to collect himself. "Though I noticed you didn'tfall inthis time," she smiled cheekily when his eyes darted back to her.

Naruto pouted. Hinata very rarely teased him so blatantly and he knew she was only doing it now to cheer him up. Well, probably that and she was still buzzed from the marriage proposal. He was feeling rather buzzed about that himself, or rather her reply to said proposal. "We decided not to re-enact _everything_, remember Hinata-chan?" he huffed.

Inwardly she agreed with him; she could still remember hiding naked in the woods, desperate to get her clothes back. _Not_ an experience she wanted to repeat. "But I missed it last time," she said innocently, "and it must have been really impressive from the sound of that splash."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Enough was enough, _he_ was the one who was supposed to do the teasing in this relationship. "Admit it, my changes were an _improvement_." He traced a hand down her spine and smirked when he felt her shudder.

Hinata pouted briefly at his underhanded tactics. "Well, we _were_ a little young last time, Naruto-kun."

Naruto snickered. He could still remember the nosebleed he got when he'd realized his mysterious waterfall girl had been naked. It was his first. In all the time he'd travelled with Jiraiya, he'd seen quite a few naked or scantily dressed women and he'd always unconsciously compared them to her.

It wasn't something he'd thought about much and he'd started to believe it had just been a beautiful dream. Time passed and his childish crush on Sakura faded into brotherly affection. He'd also started spending a lot of his time with Hinata. It was partly because they'd started working together on missions, but mostly because he couldn't stop himself from seeking her out.

One night they'd been on a mission and were forced to fight some missing-nins. Naruto had blasted one of his opponents in half with a Rasengan and had glanced over to check on Hinata. He knew she could take care of herself. In fact, with the Byakugan, she had an advantage over him in the darkness. That didn't stop him from needing to know she was ok.

As he'd suspected, Hinata was calmly taking her two attackers apart with her gentle fist style. She'd moved the fight to the surface of the nearby lake and he was struck by a sense of deja-vu at the sight of her dark silhouette moving gracefully over the water. At that moment a sliver of moonlight found its way past the clouds and dusted the world in silver.

Naruto stared and promptly forgot how to breathe. Unfortunately he also forgot about his other opponent and took a direct hit that sent him crashing into the lake.

Hinata hadn't taken that very well. By the time he'd climbed out of the water (inwardly thanking the healing powers of the Kyuubi yet again) there was so little left of the ninja who'd hurt him, that any hunter-nins after him wouldn't have to bother with their fancy methods of body disposal.

Naruto had already known that he liked Hinata but that was the night he realised hewas in love withher. Eventually he told _her_ that, and the rest as they say was history.

Hinata snuggled a little closer, firmly drawing his attention back to the present. Naruto's hand traced up and down her back, inwardly marvelling at the softness of her skin. "You know," he mused quietly, "that's the first time we've ever done it _on_ water…That was some impressive chakra control, Hinata-chan," he teased, looking down at her with a perverted grin. He loved making her blush.

"Naruto-kun," she chided, feeling her cheeks heat up. Of course, years spent in his company meant she was capable of getting her own back. "So, would you say that counts as training then?" She asked as innocently as only she could.

Naruto gaped. "Hinata-chan!" he said in a shocked voice. Then he burst into laughter, clutching her to him as though he never wanted to let go. "And to think, you used to be so shy!"

Hinata peeked up at him through her lashes and poked her fingers together, echoing a habit she'd lost years ago. She did her best to hide her grin. "It's all my fiancée's fault," she said mock seriously. Just saying the word fiancée made her want to grin crazily. She noticed that he also seemed to zone out a little at the word. "All of his senseis were perverts and he seems to be rubbing off on me," she faked a resigned sigh and stretched seductively. "Imagine how bad I'll be after we're married."

Naruto could imagine that quite well. So well that it was giving him ideas. Ideas that he _really_ couldn't wait to try. With that thought, he leaned up and kissed her passionately. He'd never been good with words but hopefully his actions would show her a fraction of what he felt for her.

Not for the first time, Naruto praised his lucky stars for his Kyuubi enhanced stamina. Also not for the first time, Hinata did likewise.


End file.
